Creating great customer experiences is imperative to your business. The reason it’s so important being that an individual who has a positive experience with a business is much more likely to become a regular, loyal customer. The happier a customer is with their experience the longer they will prove loyal to that business.
In contrast, customers who have a negative experience with a business will go elsewhere, despite how great your products or service may be.
What’s the difference between customer service and customer experience?
Customer experience is more than just customer service, it’s the whole shebang.
Let’s say you’re booking a wine tasting. The person you spoke to on the phone was enthusiastic and helpful and organised your booking for you. That’s good customer service. Let’s say that on arrival you were greeted at the door by the owner of the vineyard, shown to your table and provided a complimentary cheese platter to accompany your tasting. That’s a great customer experience.
How important is customer experience?
A business depends on its customers to thrive. And so, businesses are constantly thinking of new ways to win new customers. But don’t underestimate the power of your existing customers to help you do so!
Word of mouth is one of the most powerful marketing tools at our disposal, but for many businesses it’s underused and underappreciated.
Customer experience and word of mouth go hand in hand. The happier your customers are with their experience the more willing they will be to share it with their friends, family, colleagues…
How can you improve your customer experience?
- Have a clear vision of how you’d like your business to run. A set of brand values can help ensure every point of communication is in line with that vision.
- Know your customers. Research and investigate your target market in detail. What do they want – what do they care about. The better you know your customers, the more precisely you can target their wants and needs with a great customer experience.
- Follow up. Most businesses would agree that the initial point of contact with a customer is of great importance. But so is following up after they’ve purchased your product or service. Get in touch afterwards to thank them for their business.
How can you get your customers talking about your business?
- Request customer feedback. You’d be surprised how many customers would be willing to make comments and suggestions if you only ask. The key is to make sure it’s easy and anonymous.
- Act on that feedback. Collecting the information is only the tip of the iceberg. What’s more important is that you value that feedback and work with it.
- Ask customers you know to be regular and loyal to review your business. Send them directly links to write their praise on Facebook or Google, or collect their kind words and put them on your website.
Emily Papettas
Lead Designer
